On November 13, 1951, on the 100th anniversary of the Denny Party landing at Alki Point in West Seattle, bookstores begin selling Skid Road: An Informal Portrait of Seattle, authored by Murray Morgan (1916-2000). Skid Road will easily become the most widely read book about Seattle. Sales estimates of hardback and paperback copies through 1999 approach one-quarter million.
The idea for the book came from Viking editor Malcolm Cowley. Murray served as a tour guide for Cowley, who was visiting Seattle. The Viking editor, impressed with Murray's stories of the city's past, encouraged him to write a book about it. Skid Road became Murray Morgan's most successful book.
Murray Morgan was a journalist, reporter, historian, scholar, teacher, and the author of 23 books.
Sources:
Greg Lange, "Morgan, Murray (1916-2000)," HistoryLink Metropedia Library, (www.historylink.org).
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